In recent decades, the treatment of vascular diseases has grown exponentially in terms of sophistication and diversity. Most cardio-thoracic procedures, bypasses, and valve surgeries are routine, almost commonplace. Their popularity is due, in part, to their tremendous success rates and their ability to offer extraordinary benefits to a patient. Other types of surgeries have achieved a similar level of acceptance and popularity.
Many such procedures involve the use of medical devices, which have experienced considerable notoriety in recent years. Although these devices can automate and improve various types of procedures, many of these instruments do suffer from a number of significant drawbacks. For example, many medical devices include sharp points at their points of contact: points that generally snag or tear surrounding areas of tissue. In cases where an injury occurs, the surrounding tissue may be prone to inflammation, trauma, infection, or incomplete seals that can lead to bleeding and stroke. This detracts from the value of the surgery, adds unnecessary risk for a patient, and forces a surgeon to exercise extraordinary diligence in using such devices. Therefore, optimizing or simplifying any of these problematic issues may yield a significant reduction in risk for a patient and, further, minimize the accompanying burden for a surgeon.
Because a surgeon is generally tasked with estimating the approximate location of a target operating region [and in some cases, feeling his way through potential blind-spots], enhancing the accuracy of the placement of a given medical device would be highly beneficial and welcomed.
Accordingly, the ability to provide an effective medical tool that properly accounts for the aforementioned problems presents a significant challenge for component manufactures, system designers, and physicians alike.